Robbo said there were concerns over the club’s ability to win the big games.

“(Nathan Buckley) got the effort against Adelaide but the facts are Collingwood doesn’t have the talent to stop the opposition kicking goals and when they’re in control of the game, they can’t put the score on the board,” he said.

“They’re just not good enough. I think its great Travis Cloke and Scott Pendlebury still believe they can play finals.

“But if you weren’t emotionally invested in the club — if you sat back and looked at this objectively — you’d say they’re not good enough to play finals.”

■ THE Magpies conquerors, Adelaide are in the eight for the first time this season.

Huddo said it not for some poor kicking, the Crows could have won by more.

“I was (impressed), they could have won by more than they did,” he said.

“In the end, the thing that I thought that got them over the line was their ruckman, Sam Jacobs.

“His ability to get the ball down to his midfielders and his last 10 minutes were great.”

Robbo said there was still plenty of improvement left in the Crows.

“They still need to improve. Their key forwards are still coming together. They won without Scott Thompson. Daniel Talia and Brodie Smith are fantastic in defence. How does Smith get 25 at 100%?”

The Crows have a smooth run home with West Coast, Brisbane Lions, Richmond, North Melbourne and St Kilda in the final five weeks.

■ SATURDAY night’s top-of-the-table clash will go down as one of the games of the season with Hawthorn coming out on top.

The Swans started the game on top of the ladder and remain there on percentage but the resilient Hawks have roared back into premiership calculations.

“What a contest it was, it certainly delivered on expectations,” Huddo said.

“That was as good as it gets. I loved every minute,” Robbo said.

“I would be damn proud of my club if I was a Hawthorn fan. They don’t give up. They’ve got talent and they’ve got resolve.”

Huddo said if Hawthorn and Sydney meet in the Grand Final, we would look back on this game as the foundation.

“You know when you look back at seasons past and you look at the games when the two teams have played already ... this had all the hallmarks of a Grand Final preview,” he said.

Roos said the week off had given he and the club time to reflect and signing on was the obvious choice.

“Given the bye weekend, it was probably the first time I’d had a chance to think about it,” he said.

“To be fair to the Melbourne footy club, it was time to get it out of the way ... I was pleased with the progression we’ve made and I thought another two and a half years rather than 18 months will make a big difference.

“When you first sign, two years seems a long time and you don’t know the players.

“I feel there’s a real good group of players and we’re pushing in the right direction.

Robbo asked Roos about the Demons big-name free agent, James Frawley, and his future after the coach had committed to the club.

“James is no different to Travis Cloke last year and Gary Ablett or Brendon Goddard before him,” he said.

“I just think we’re going to see it more and more. We’ve got to give the players time to make their decision.”

Paul Roos will coach Melbourne for another two years. Picture: Sarah Reed.Source:News Corp Australia

■ BOMBER was asked if he was happy that James Hird would stay out of the coaches box for the rest of the season and whether it would be a distraction.

“Yes, I pretty happy,” Thompson said.

“We feel that if he is seen out on the ground then the story will be about him and not the players.

“The players missed out on the finals last year and to go through another series ... people don’t want it to be about James Hird. They want it to be about the footy.

Robbo had been critical of Essendon for closing the door on Hird.

“I believe a footy club needs to look after their own. You look at Damien Hardwick saying we’ll support this guy (after the Tyrone Vickery incident),” he said.

“When James came back he was an outcast and Essendon shifted him to the outside.”

However, Thompson disagreed saying Hird would be doing plenty of work behind the scenes.

James Hird will not be in the coaches box this season. Picture: Norm OorloffSource:News Corp Australia

“We haven’t shifted him, we haven’t shut him out,” he said.

“The club won’t be disadvantaged. He’ll be involved. He’ll be doing lots of work, the day he comes back.”

Thompson said the club had had a plan in place for Hird’s return and the media were making a bigger issue of it.

“You guys are powerful ... the media drive agendas,” he said.

Roos had sympathy for Essendon’s situation.

“Externally it’s seen as a distraction,” he said.

“I don’t see it as a decision against James. I see it as a selfless decision by the club to protect the players and allow them to go about their business.”

Dustin Fletcher’s future has also been a big issue at Windy Hill.

“I had a chat to him. We’ve had a chat with him and his manager just to clear everything up,” Thompson said.

“We’ll see what happens.”

■ ROOS was asked his opinion of the Tyrone Vickery incident after going through a similar situation with Barry Hall.

“Barry to his credit realised straight away. He was the one who drove “I’ve got to get out there” and Vickery has done the same thing.”

“After the battle you look after your player. Richmond cleaned it up today (by having Vickery apologise).”

ON THE COUCH

GERARD Healy, Mike Sheahan and Jason Dunstall kicked off the show with their highlights of the weekend.

Respected journalist, Sheahan, went with Brisbane Lions star Tom Rockliff, saying he must now be regarded “among the elite” of the competition.

Dunstall had a crack at Adelaide forward James Podsiadly after his attempted banana from just 10m out went pear shaped.

“A couple of things horribly wrong. Firstly, why not drop punt. He’s a left footer and that was the perfect side. Secondly, he had some space and only took half a step,” he said.

Healy concentrated on the blockbuster game on Saturday night, saying the Hawks win had opened up the premiership race.

“The two of them together — if they can keep them healthy — it’s going to be big.”

Franklin was loudly booed by the Hawthorn faithful from start to finish and Sheahan said the champion deserved better.

“Should Buddy have been booed given what he’s done for the club,” he said.

Dunstall said it wasn’t a great surprise; “There’s no surprise. I’m sure he expected some boos.”

■ GOLD Coast are another club on the slide after being soundly beaten by Brisbane in the Q Clash.

Dunstall labelled the Suns’ performance “insipid”.

“There’s a whisper floating around that the Suns weren’t happy when Gary Ablett decided to have surgery rather than try and push on,” he said.

Sheahan believed there was some foundation to the idea.

“The Suns are now 0-8 without Ablett. They took no initiative, they allowed Brisbane to dictate from the start.”

“Harley Bennell — who I think is the second most talented bloke in the squad — he was horrible.

“You’ve got to ask whether they have a genuine belief they can make the finals.”

■ AFTER the Crows big win on Sunday, Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson joined the boys as a special guest.

After a slow start, the Crows moved into the eight for the first time this season.

“We’ve had some challenges, particularly early in the season,” Sanderson said.

“To start 0-3 it’s been a long way back. We feel like our form is OK, it’s taken us a while to get our form, now we’re in the eight and hopefully we can stay there.

“We do have a young group and I think sometimes they think they forget how good they can be.

“The future is very bright and sometimes we have to be patient and accept there will be growing pains.”

Patrick Dangerfield is helped off the field after hurting his knee.Source:Getty Images

Sanderson and all Crows supporters had a moment of panic late in the game when Patrick Dangerfield looked to have injured his knee.

The coach said his star midfielder had escape serious injury but admitted he might need to adjust his style.

“Thankfully, he doesn’t require scans. I was very nervous,” he said.

“When I heard him say ‘I heard a pop’ my heart did skip a beat.

“He reminds me of Chris Judd at the same age. Judd was all inside and about the contested ball. We’re trying to educate him because he has such explosive speed, he can really hurt teams on the outside.

“Without doubt he is the most courageous player I’ve seen.

“It’s classic whiteline fever. He reminds me of Garry Hocking. Completely calm during the week but will do anything to get the ball on the weekend.”

Brodie Smith has been a revelation for Adelaide this season. Picture: Sarah Reed.Source:News Corp Australia

Another player who has caught attention this season is Brodie Smith.

Sanderson was rapt with his defender’s growth.

“He’s still very young but he is leading the competition for metres gained and rebound 50s,” he said.

“He’s a very important player for us. I’m reluctant to talk about him because I think he does get under the radar of other teams.

“Smith and (Daniel) Talia for us have been huge, they would be locks for the All Australian team at the end of the season.”

With Nathan van Berlo injured for the entire season, Sanderson was asked about the captaincy going forward.

“Being captain of the Adelaide football club takes a lot of responsibility,” he said.

“Our players have a lot of responsibility aside from playing and we’ll need to weigh that up.

“The co-captains have worked this year ... Nathan is our captain but probably won’t play a huge role this year.

“We’ll have a look at it this season.”

TALKING FOOTY (7Mate)

AFTER a tumultuous week, Jarrad Waite was asked at training about his contract situation and relationship with Carlton coach Mick Malthouse.

“The manager is in the process, so there’s nothing really to report on that,” he said.

“I’ve just got to concentrate on the next five weeks and play some really good footy for the team and I’m sure if that happens, it will sort itself out.

“Mick and I are fine. I have no issues with him so I don’t know where that’s coming from.”

■ MELBOURNE coach Paul Roos also made an appearance, saying his extension could start the club’s succession planning.

“That’s something that will go through the normal process.

“The first stage is figuring out who wants to be a senior coach ... so that will take its course over the next six to eight weeks.”

Gary Ablett with his arm in a sling after shoulder surgery. Picture: Nicole GarmstonSource:News Corp Australia

■ FINALLY, after a tough loss to their arch-rivals Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna was asked about Gary Ablett and Karmichael Hunt.

“I was told he (Ablett) had signed his contract while undergoing shoulder surgery, under anaesthetic,” McKenna joked.

“No, look, he’s done an amazing job for us on and off the field — along with Karmichael Hunt — he continues to grow in his leadership role and continues to grow as a footballer.

“You hear all these innuendos — is he a good leader, a poor leader — what’s done for the club and football on the Coast has been fantastic.

“Right now he (Hunt) is (required). Like a lot of players he’s got five weeks to make an impression.

“The good news is, he’s had a procedure on his knee, not a major one, and within a week he’ll be training again.”

FOOTY CLASSIFIED (Channel 9)

THE panel concentrated on the Gold Coast after their shocking loss to Brisbane.

Craig Hutchinson described the Suns as “abysmal”.

Hutchinson revealed that injured captain Gary Ablett did not attend the game and asked if that was an issue for the club.

Caroline Wilson said Ablett would want to have a good reason.

“Apparently he was feeling under the weather, you just hope that there was a genuine reason,” she said.

“There’s been that vague question mark over him, that he runs his own race.

“I’m not criticising him, he’s just undergone shoulder surgery and was obviously sore.”

Garry Lyon said there was a different expectation on players today.

“Back in our day, the expectation was you go when you’re injured,” he said.

“I can’t remember not turning up and I had a lot of injuries but I’ve talked to Dane Swan and he hasn’t gone to games.”

Of more concern for Suns coach Guy McKenna was the team’s first quarter which was reportedly “the worst in history”.

“With their season on he line, what happened almost defied belief,” Lyon said.

As a team, the Suns managed just 36 disposals, four inside 50s, six clearances and one mark.

Lyon said there were now major questions about the club after it looked like they were heading for a maiden finals campaign.

“Zac Smith needs to explain what was going through his mind,” he said.

“I was of the expectation that when they beat Collingwood after Ablett went down it would make them. I was wrong, it has broken them.

“They are back on notice, in a big way, for the last five weeks of the season.”

News.com.au's Privacy Policy includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including to provide you with targeted content and advertising based on your online activities). It explains that if you do not provide us with information we have requested from you, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services you require. It also explains how you can access or seek correction of your personal information, how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with a complaint of that nature.